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Learn, Taste, Revive & Play At Sea With Celebrity Life

24th June 2015

Sally Macmillan explains how Celebrity Cruises' can broaden your horizons with its Celebrity Life programme.

If you’ve been meaning to enrol in a dance class or exercise your hidden talent for painting but have just been too busy, your next cruise is the ideal opportunity for learning a new skill. You'll have plenty of time to enjoy your holiday while expanding your repertoire — and you’ll be amazed by the choice of courses you can join.

Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Life programme offers four fun categories of enrichment classes: Learn, Taste, Revive and Play. And if you’ve always wanted to know more about what goes on behind the scenes of a big, modern cruise ship, why not start with the three-hour “See How It’s Done” tour? You’ll get to see the inner workings of areas such as the Bridge, main dining room galley and theatre – and then sit down to a wine-paired lunch with your group, which is limited to 15.

Other courses in the Learn division include Celebrity iLearn, a series of digital classes in the Mac-powered Celebrity iLounge; once you’ve mastered the basics, you can take one of 18 customised courses that are taught by the iLounge managers. Hands-on art classes are held in the Art Studio on the Lawn Deck, or if art appreciation is more your thing, browse the onboard collections of superb contemporary artworks with the self-guided iPad tour.

Expert dancers will lead you through salsa, jive and hip-hop and once you’ve worked up an appetite, there’s a tempting menu of food, wine and spirits classes to join in the Taste program. Aspiring masterchefs can sign up for Top Chef at Sea on select cruises – a culinary challenge based on the popular US TV show Top Chef, and a food and wine pairing seminar will equip you with all you need to know about the finer points of fine wining and dining.

You can delve deeper into the secrets of wine-tasting with Celebrity Cruises and discover how different wine glasses affect the aroma and taste of wines at the Riedel Comparative Wine Crystal Workshop. Sommeliers who have trained with the world-renowned Austrian crystal manufacturer lead these fascinating classes. Then there’s the hugely enjoyable Mixology 101, where you can learn the tricks of the bartending trade and whip up a mojito with the best of them.

Enjoying some rejuvenating “me time” is all part of Celebrity Life’s Revive program. Take Care of Your Selfie offers five specially designed spa treatments, including yoga classes, or you can explore the benefits of acupuncture and chiropractic therapies with Canyon Ranch SpaClub’s expert practitioners. Zumba classes cater for everyone from beginners and kids to active gym junkies – and the new Aqua Zumba class is a fun pool-party workout.

Playing games is good for mind and body and you can join lots of organized activities in the Play program. Celebrity’s Solstice-class ships have an expansive real grass lawn deck where you can play croquet, bocce or practice your golf putting – and pool volleyball is the best way to cool off on a hot day. Time-honoured cruise pursuits such as trivia contests and game shows exercise the brain and attract lots of people of all ages who’d never play at home.

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Sally Macmillan is a relatively recent cruise convert and long-time journalist who has a serious sailing habit. Sally has edited Cruise Passenger magazine for four years, and writes the weekly cruise column and cruise travel related features for Traveller.

*Based on Australian registered businesses & websites for travel departing within Australia. Prices displayed are for cash payments in store and additional fees may apply to online bookings. Written quote must be presented prior to booking.